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About The Author

Ralph Maughan

Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University with specialties in natural resource politics, public opinion, interest groups, political parties, voting and elections. Aside from academic publications, he is author or co-author of three hiking/backpacking guides, and he is President of the Western Watersheds Project.

Does it stand to reason that our persistant pressure on the “cowboy gestapo” just might have them running in circles?? If that is the case, they may just shoot their own selves in the foot. And maybe in front of a lot visitors/witnesses….. Maybe I am too hopeful they will slip up. But I think it has the potential to bring down a landslide, however small that chance may be.

This needs to be something that gets national attention. I only ever hear about this after searching web sights. It’s so sad to have to seek out important news.
I agree though, it’s time to call a spade a spade. These hazings are unnecessary, and political crap! I guess all anyone needs to get there way in the USA is a few cows. It seems like politicians are willing to do literally anything for people with cow pies to sell.

Vicki I agree. The only info in friday’s paper was that 50 “renegade” bison were being hazed back into the park. No explanation, nothing. But what really pissed me off was a full page article about the show “the Sopranos”.

If you are familiar with Yellowstone Park, you will see that the Department of Livestock is chasing bison deeper into the Park, and they are already about ten miles inside the Park. This is the first time they’ve done this in a place where tourists can see.

Are the bison suffering? Hard to say. I don’t think greatly, but it is an enormous intrusion into the Park, and it could damage lots of other animals.

Stephanie Seay of the Buffalo Field Campaign on the Slaughter of Wild Buffalo

George Cadman of Free Radio Santa Cruz 101.1 fm interviews Stephanie Seay, media coordinator of the Buffalo Field Campaign about the Montana state and the federal government practice of capturing wild buffalo on public lands and slaughtering them or transporting them hundreds of miles in trucks or trains. In Montana in the last two weeks state and federal authorities planned to slaughter 300 wild buffalo, including calves and their mothers. It was stopped by the BFC and public outcry, but this is not the first time this has happened. In the last 7 years the government has trucked 2,000 wild buffalo to slaughter, 1,000 last year alone. Stephanie also talks about the cattle industry, the power they hold in Montana and how they influence decision making on the treatment of wild buffalo, the huge subsidies that the industry receives, and their access to public lands. And she discusses what concerned citizens can do to help defend the last remaining wild buffalo in North America.

where are the voices of more recognized environmentalists? leo di’caprio, doyle brunson, ed bagley jr., etc. maybe a more notariable voice taking a stand is in order? this issue goes beyond animals, it stretches the limits of our rights as a society, and right to the core of monetary corruption in our government. law makers who put these troubles in motion should ashamed. wether they were acting legally or not, they basically screwed every one who doesn’t own a cow…. i don’t remember being kissed….how about citing the dol guys with molesting or harassing the animals? they aren’t within their jurisdiction in the park are they? are they not then held accountable under the same laws any ditz who feeds bears in the park would be???? what a load of cow $@#t!!

I was in the park tuesday, little did I know that all those buffalo were being pushed into the park. I never saw the helecopter as pictured but did see about a dozen horseman that were slowly moving the buffalo. So slowly in fact that they were feeding as they slowly walked. Some were even laying down taking a nap. The horseman told us that they were moving buffalo along the valley. I really thought nothing of it until I saw this blog. What is all the outrage over? That they were moving them into the park instead of slaughtering them?

I’m happy to learn that not all the moving of the bison was done with aircraft. It is much better that they are moving them than killing them.

In my system of values the fundamental issue has always been the bisons’ confinement to YNP.

There is plenty of grass to the west of the Park for them, and the Forest Service Horse Butte grazing allotment was bought out by conservation groups and retired from livestock grazing to eliminate any cattle/bison conflict. Nevertheless, Montana DOL keeps raising specter of brucellosis from infected bison getting into Montana cattle and won’t let the bison use this lush forage.

Meanwhile Wyoming follows a completely lackadaisical approach to the matter. Almost all of the Grand Teton area bison are infected, and the cause for this is well known — winter feeding of elk and bison. Wyoming is willing to do almost nothing constructive to reduce this infection, which in the case of their infected elk really has spread brucellosis into Wyoming and Idaho cattle.

John,
If I may suggest, look at some of the video that the BFC has on there web site of the hazing by helicopter of days old or younger calf buffalo for miles without respite. Draw your own conclusion as to the ethics and morality.

The primary reason Wyoming is doing nothing about brucellosis in elk is that everyone recognizes, but refuses to admit, that brucellosis truly isn’t a problem for the livestock industry. The brucellosis problem is actually the brucellosis fraud. Brucellosis most certainly isn’t a problem in elk. Further, we know that were elk not fed and allowed to roam across the landscape as is natural for these migratory herds, the disease would burn itself out as elk populations approach more natural densities.

Elk feedgrounds exist in Wyoming for one reason and one reason only: to “protect” grass reserved for cattle from migrating elk. All of the state’s 22 elk feedgrounds are strategically placed to prevent elk from migrating to traditional winter ranges now incorporated into cattle grazing allotments and private property. Ranchers are determined that elk not move onto those allotments and private property and compete with cattle for grass and space.

Tied up in this politics of grass in Wyoming is the politics of the survival of the livestock industry, which thrives on the exercise of power for not only power’s sake, but to prop up what is an aging and declining cowboy oligarchy that has controlled land use and wildlife managment policy since cows first came to Wyoming in the 19th century. In particular, forcing the Wyoming Game & Fish Department to maintain 22 feedgrounds in NW Wyoming at a cost of $1.5-2 million a year, paid for by the state’s hunters and anglers, is one way to exercise power over the Department.

As in Montana, Wyoming’s wildlife agency is owned by the livestock industry lock, stock, and barrel, and the damage to wildlife and democracy itself from the cowboy oligarchy is clear.

The goal for conservationists should be to work to destroy the political power of the livestock industry to control land use and wildlife policy in the Greater Yellowstone.

Vicki mentioned the problem of how do we get national attention. Here is a quote from a book I have been reading; “But I invariably hear the same refrain from audiences; “Why haven’t I heard any of this before? Why aren’t the environmentalists getting the word out?” The fact is, there is no lack of effort on our part to inform the public, but we often hit a stone wall: the media. They are simply unwilling to cover environmental issues.”

It looks like plenty of people have let the officials, and various depts., know what they think. Maybe we just need to find a way to bombard the media to the point that they can’t ignore the issues anymore. Sending so many letters out that we flood their mail rooms, and also their web sites with e-mails.

I can do that. I WILL do that!!!Any other takers? Where do we begin…? I can start with The Denver Post. Then what? I will have some family and friends, who will get family and friends, and so on. What other papers? Maybe some T.V. shows? What other news papers?

Yicki- I think starting in on the local media is a good start. Asking our friends and families for ideas , good too. I am going to do some brain-storming this weekend and come up with a list of ideas that we can work on. Everyone I have talked to at the businesses I frequent did not know. I bought a stack of books for research at Powells; a couple were about Yellowstone, the guy at the counter told me he had worked a couple of seasons in the park and his sister is an enviromental attorney. I always have my business cards with me, so I figured I should also carry a bigger card with info about the bison. Almost everyone I know owns a business and I am sure they would be willing to post info.
I will post the idea list here Sunday evening.

Vicki, I think that our ideas are a good place to start. Later I realized that offices for the various newspapers are closed for the weekend. And that also meant the local printer who has often made copies for me at a considerable discount. I did work on a rough draft for the most essential info about the bison issue. I am going to check which papers have a section for random announcements. Independant newspapers that publish once a week really have a variety of subjects and usually have an environmental section.

My website is currently being worked on , so I will email Ralph and see if he will forward my personal email to you, since we are going kind of branching off of the purpose of this site.

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Quote

‎"At some point we must draw a line across the ground of our home and our being, drive a spear into the land and say to the bulldozers, earthmovers, government and corporations, “thus far and no further.” If we do not, we shall later feel, instead of pride, the regret of Thoreau, that good but overly-bookish man, who wrote, near the end of his life, “If I repent of anything it is likely to be my good behaviour."